A Summer Trip to Spiti Valley

Incredible Spiti

Spiti means the 'Middle Land' in the Tibetan language. The beautiful Spiti region is situated between Tibetan and Indian Himalayas, and kind of acts as the geographic and cultural bridge between the two regions for centuries.

For years, Spiti has been in our wishlist to experience the trans Himalayan landscape. I have always believed Spiti is more beautiful than Ladakh and relatively less commercialized, which gives you the option to customize your trips and explore the lesser known destinations in more details.

Contrary to popular route via Shimla and Kinnaur, we did a Spiti round trip based out of Manali, which gave us a lot more days to explore the Spiti region itself, rather than spending 2/3 days in Chitkul, Kalpa and Nako enroute.

Kinnaur itself is a beautiful region and should be done separately. Since we already have covered Sarahan, Kalpa, Sangla, Chitkul in our previous trip to Himachal, there was no need for us to travel in the same route.

In our Itinerary given below, we covered the entire Spiti Region within a week. spending 6 days in the high altitude valley.

Day 1 - Sissu, Trilokinath Temple and Mrikula Mata Temple

Day1 was more of an acclimatization day. Manali is around 7000 feet and Kaza more than 12000 feet, so for acclimatization we decided to stay a day at Sissu, which is around 9500 feet in elevation. We also planned to visit the famous Trilokinath and Mrikula Mata temple in the Lahaul region from Sissu.

Even through Lahaul is situated in a rain shadow region, but unlike Spiti, Lahaul is much more greener in the monsoon.

We crossed the Atal tunnel and reached Sissu from Manali within an hour. After checking into the hotel, we started our journey towards Trilokinath temple.

We were driving along the famous Manali Leh highway which is beautifully maintained by BRO. Alongside us river Chandra was flowing on the northern direction. First we climbed down till Tandi. At Tandi Chandra river meets with Bhaga river, which comes from Barlacha La, and becomes Chandrabhaga river. From Tandi we once again started climbing uphill along the Chandrabhaga valley. We could see vast valleys alongside the Chandra river, where cauliflower, peas, iceberg lettuce have been harvested. 

Trilokinath Lahaul

Within an hour we reached Trilokinath. Situated just below the mighty Pirpanjal , Trilokinath is a mesmerizing valley. The mountain slopes where thickly covered with Deodars and looked fascinating. Trilokinath temple is a beautiful melange of Hindu and Buddhist culture, where within the  same temple complex, Lord Shiva and Gautam Budha both are worshipped. 

After visiting Trilokinath we then moved towards the Mrikula Mata temple in Udaipur. Udaipur is around 15 kms. from Trilokinath and is a sub divisional town. Legend says Lord Vishwakarma carved the beautiful Mrikula Mata temple, within a day, from the woods of a giant tree. The inside of the temple is absolutely stunning, with intricately carved motifs. 

Mrikula Mata Temple Udaipur

Here also you can see the mélange of Hinduism and Buddhism, as within the temple you can see motifs of Lord Buddha created on the wooden panel. The temple priest was very humble, and showed us all the decoration inside the temple with a lot of patience and described the history of the temple.

We paid our homage to Mrikula Mata for a safe journey towards the Spiti region and came back to Sissu by evening.

Day 2 - Driving from Sissu to Kaza

This was going to be a long day. The distance is merely 156 kms. however almost half of the road from Gramphu to Losar is an unmetalled dirt road, passing through some of the highest mountains of the region.

Khoksar

We started at 5.30 a.m from Sissu, and reached Khoksar within half an hour. Khoksar, situated just below the Rohtang pass is a beautiful place in itself with lovely combination of rugged mountains, meadows and snow peaks. We had our morning tea, at a road side dhaba, and started towards Gramphu. 

Our honeymoon with well paved highways, ended in Gramphu, as we entered the infamous Gramphu - Batal - Kaza road. The road is only seasonally opened from Mid June to Mid October. Heavy snow closes the highest point on this route - Kunzum Pass, which is situated at 15000 feet, and hence detaches Spiti valley from Manali side for the remaining of the year.

Beautiful Views Around Gramphu

The road is unmetalled, however in a SUV with high ground clearance, it should not be that tough to negotiate. The golden rule for crossing any Himalayan pass is, you have to start really early. There will be water crossings created by melting glaciers, and the later you cross them, the more you risk yourself, as the water level increases as day progresses.

Gramphu to Chatru route has beautiful views of Chandra River Valley. The lofty mountains across the valley has beautiful meadows in between. In the summer time, its a favorite place for the Gaddis. They have flocked in numbers with their animals, and we could see a number of sheep and goat on the mountain slopes, grazing the grass.

Gaddi with their animals in Pir Panjal

In Chhatru we came down to the banks of cascading Chandra river. Chhatru is the first settlement in this route which has some basic dhabas. We had our breakfast at Chhatru.

From Chhatru the road condition kind of deteriorates, as the road actually passes through the Chandra river basin, crossing over boulders. In my opinion the next 32 km roads till Batal is the toughest section in this route. This will take atleast 3 hours to complete. The views in this section though are outstanding. The Deotibba peak, visible across the beautiful Chandra river is mesmerizing. 

Deotibba seen from Batal

After this grueling 3 hours stretch we stopped for a break at Batal. In Batal you will find the famous Chacha Chachi Dhaba, which is serving delicious food even in this remotest Himalayan village. We had our lunch at Batal, with Dal - Chawal, and it was really like home cooked food.

From Batal we now once again climb uphill, as we now leave the Pir Panjal range and enter into the Greater Himalayan Range. The Chandra river disappears below, as we continued to gain altitude. The snow in the mountaintop also increased considerably, indicating we are climbing uphill. After driving for one more hour we reached the highest point of this route - Kunzum Pass. 

Beautiful Kunzum Range

Kunzum pass is a breathtakingly beautiful place. We have now entered the Spiti region, which can be very well understood by the change in the colour of the mountains. Previously it was green and grey, but now its more pale yellowish. At the first glimpse Kunzum pass looks like a piece of land from Mongolia, with vast alpine meadow and fluttering Buddhist prayer flags. The Kunzum Maata Temple situated on the top, makes you believe you are still in India. We paid our homage to Kunzum Maata. The temple also served beautiful warm halwa as prasad to the travelers. On that cold weather it was really a gift from the god.

Kunzum Maata Temple

Just after descending couple of hairpin bends from Kunzum pass, you will get your first glimpse of the Spiti river. Spiti river originates on the Kunzum range, and will now accompany us through the entire Spiti valley. The meandering river, through the rugged floors of Spiti valley looked absolutely beautiful.

As we climbed down, the Spiti valley opened up, with gorgeous rugged mountains on both sides, and the meandering Spiti river on the middle. Shortly we reached Losar. From Losar we thankfully got back onto the metaled road. The entire unmetalled stretch from Gramphu to Losar was close to 80 km and it took us almost 6 hours to negotiate.

First Look of Spiti River

From Losar we drove alongside the spiti river, and reached Kaza, by 4 p.m. It took us almost 10 hours to complete the Sissu to Kaza journey, it was tough, but negotiable, but we thoroughly enjoyed the adventure and the outstanding landscape of the route.

Day 3 - Langza Hikkim Komic and Demul

Next day we visited the popular trio of Langza Hikkim and Komic and with that also a lesser known village called Demul.

The reason we wanted to visit Demul was to travel on the Komic to Demul link road, which goes through some of the highest mountains of Spiti, and provides breathtaking views of the mountains and occasional glimpse of wildlife.

Langza Village View

Our first destination was Langza, which takes around 45 minutes from Kaza. Langza is a beautiful village set beneath the famous Chau Chau Ka Nilda peak. The view of the peak, from the village is beautiful. The soil around Langza is blackish, which is good for farming. We saw a lot of pea farming done in and around the village.

Langza is famous for its Buddha statue which is believed to be more than 1000 years old. The beautiful idol of Buddha, facing the snow clad mountain really generates a sense of spirituality.

It feels like Buddha is standing their for centuries as a custodian of the village.

Famous Buddha Statue at Langza

From Langza our next destination was Hikkim. Hikkim is famous for the highest post office in the world at 14567 feet.  The post office building is small but beautiful. The Post Master is a very humble person. We bought some picture postcard from the nearby cafe, and posted it to our address at home. The post master happily stamped those postcards. As I'm writing the blog, I'm still waiting for the postcards to arrive.

A closer look of Hikkim Village

From Hikkim we then went to Komic. I didn't like Komic that much, it's said to have the highest restaurant in the world, but apart from that, it doesn't have much specialty, the village itself looked a bit shabby. The restaurant is well managed though. We had a cup of Lemon Ginger Honey Tea, it was a lovely drink.

From Komic we took the Komic to Demul dirt track which goes through some of the most spectacular views of Spiti. This route is definitely less travelled, as we didn't see a single vehicle in that route. We just drove within complete isolation, in one of the most rugged landscapes of Himalaya. 

Yak grazing near Demul

As we climbed altitude, more and more snow clad mountains opened in front of us. The high altitude valleys in between the mountains where a nice grazing ground for the yaks and the donkeys, as we could see a lot of them, grazing in their natural habitat.

Aamzing views enroute Komic to Demul

Komic to Demul takes more than an hour. Before reaching the village on a mountain top a Chorten has been erected. The villagers were performing their rituals, when we visited the chorten. The place was extremely windy, but beautiful. From there we could see the Demul village a little below. On the backdrop the Chau Chau Ka Nilda peak was visible like a crown.

Demul Village

Demul also has good farming land around the village, where we could see people harvesting the peas, the main cash crop of the region.

From Demul we once again climbed down to the valley, alongside the Spiti river, and drove back to Kaza. We visited the Kaza bazaar which is pretty well stocked, and also had our lunch at the famous 'The Himalayan Cafe'. Considering the remoteness of Kaza, the food was real good.

Day 4 - Tabo Gue and Dhankar 

Next day was dedicated to visit the famous Tabo Monastery. Tabo is around 40 km from Kaza, and takes around 2 hours. The road goes alongside the Spiti river, and provides breathtaking views of the Kinnaur Mountains and the Manirang peak.

The view of the rugged mountains in this road is absolutely spectacular. Tabo is situated on a much lower altitude than Kaza, and hence is much greener. Tabo has sprawling apple gardens which adds to the beauty of the place. 

Manirang Peak from Spiti Valley

However the main attraction of Tabo is the famous Tabo Monastery built in the 9th Century. Built completely in mud, the Monastery architecture is a piece of gem. The old buildings, the chortens made of mud all looked absolutely stunning. Tabo has some exquisite frescoes depicting the life of Lord Buddha inside some of these buildings. 

Beautiful Chorten at Tabo

We visited the painting gallery, and was completely awestruck by the use of colour and the detailing on those paintings. Photography is strictly prohibited inside those rooms, and rightly so. These are national treasures, and should be protected.

Tabo Monastery

The day we visited Tabo was Dalai Lama's birthday. The followers were celebrating his birthday by arranging a program. It was a holi day for them, we could see local people dressed in their ethnic wear, coming to the monastery and taking part in the function.

After spending couple of hours in Tabo, we then moved towards the famous Gue Mummy temple. Gue is an unique destination in itself where a mummy of a Buddhist monk has been preserved. The mummy was found during an excavation on 1981 when ITBP was trying to create a bunker in the village. Research suggests the mummy dates back to 1430 A. D 

The mummy was of a Buddhist monk who can be seen in a praying posture, when possibly due to a sudden earthquake the entire village was buried. Even after 600 years the mummy looks so well preserved, that it can definitely be said as a miracle of nature. A beautiful temple on a mountain top is getting constructed to showcase this piece of wonder to the entire world.  The Gue village itself is very pretty with apple planation all around, and gurgling brooks flowing through the heart of it. 

Gue Mummy Temple

Gue is the last motorable village on Spiti, after that the mountains climb rapidly towards Tibet border. From Gue we once again climbed down to Sumdo, the border of Spiti and Kinnaur, and then started our return journey towards Kaza. During return, we visited the famous Dhankar Monastery, which can be reached by taking a detour from Shichling, and climbing around 10 kms. uphill.

Spectacular Dhankar Monastery

Situated on a cliff the old fort and Monastery of Dhankar is a sight to behold. It is indeed one of the most fascinating landscape in the entire Spiti. The dilapidated fort was constructed on a cliff, giving a birds eye view of the entire region. The old monastery within the fort said to have a lot of ancient thankas of Buddhism. The mountains around Dhankar monastery is extremely rugged, and has a completely different texture than rest of the region. They look like gigantic pillars made of sand. 

Himalayan Red Fox at Spiti

While coming back from Dhankar to Kaza, we encountered a rare sight of a Himalayan red fox. The fox was crossing the road, when our car arrived at the location. It quickly escaped to the bushes grown on the Spiti river basin, but kept on observing us. It was probably waiting for us to leave, so that it can once again cross the road, and go to the other side of the valley. We also kept on observing the lovely animal, and was expecting if it can come out of the bushes completely so that we can have a full view of it. But the fox decided not to come out. Nevertheless watching Himalayan red fox in its own habitat was certainly a lifetime experience for us.

 Day 5 - Key Monastery and Tashigaon Top

This was our penultimate day at Spiti. We decided to visit Key monastery first and from there we would visit the Tashigaon village and the Tashigaon top. 

Key monastery is around 15 kms from Kaza, and can be reached within half an hour. Perched at a hilltop the monastery is built like a fortress and provides a breathtaking view of the spiti river and the valley below. Key is one of the longest serving monastery of the region has a rich legacy attached to it. It was frequently attacked by the Mongols and the Dogra army, and hence gone through a lot of building and rebuilding process.

Key Monastery on a hilltop

The Lama's in key monastery are extremely friendly. They greet you into the premises. When we visited a prayer was going on within the main holy temple. It was a sight to behold. The gongs of drums, chimes of bells, and the recitation of the mantras by the monks created a divine atmosphere. The lama's invited us to the upper floor of the holy temple, offered herbal tea and biscuit, which was really very kind of them. From the rooftop of Key monastery the magnificent views of the region is simply superb!

From Key monastery instead of visiting the popular Kibber village we decided to visit an offbeat place, called the Tashigaon village. Tashigaon is the highest and remotest motorable village in Spiti with only 4 houses in the village. It's actually famous for the highest electoral booth in the world. During election govt of India sets up a electoral boot only for the people of the 4 houses. The road to Tashigaon is completely wild, there is no proper marking, and there is ample chance of getting lost in the mountains.

Yaks at Tashigaon Top

Its a 12 km non existent road that runs from Kibber to Tashigaon. We were continuously climbing uphill, however was not very sure whether we were going in the right direction. There were not a single human being on that road, and meeting one was also extremely unlikely. We did lose our path a bit, as we first reached the Gete village which is below Tashigaon, and thought it as Tashigaon. However the villagers corrected us and showed the route towards Tashigaon. Thashigaon is a fabulous view point. Even almost at 15000 feet above sea level, the village looked green enough, with the skyline dominated by the Chau Chau ka Nilda peak. With the green pastures below and the stunning snow clad mountain on the horizon, Tashigaon just looked a stunning piece of landscape.

Kanamo Peak at Tashigaon

The people of Tashigaon are very friendly and they were really happy that travelers like us have come to visit their village. They showed us the only homestay in the village, and also said, in coming years all of the houses will be preparing to host guests like us.

From Tashigaon village we climbed another couple of kilometers uphill to come to the breathtakingly beautiful Tashigaon top. From Tashigaon top you get a clear view of both Kanamo and the Chau Chau ka Nilda peak, both of them are among the highest mountains of the region. The green pasture just below the snow peaks was a perfect grazing ground for a herd of yaks. We could see hundreds of yaks grazing and munching on the green grass just below the snow laden Himalayas.

Ibex at Tashigaon

But our surprise was not to be ended there. Suddenly we saw a flock of Ibex in the adjacent hill. They were almost 30 in number, and was completely oblivious of our present. They were playing within themselves, climbing up and down the slopes of the mountain and feeding themselves with the mountain grass. Watching ibex is really a rare sight, and we could consider ourselves extremely lucky that we got a glimpse of these elusive animal just at the end of our trip. We were expecting if a snow leopard could also be seen in the vicinity, but it was too much of a desire. 

Day 6 - Back to Manali

Day 6 was once again the long journey back to Manali from Kaza. We started early from Kaza at 5.30 a.m., had our breakfast at Losar village, and lunch at Chhatru. With a more or less non stop drive we came back to Manali by 3.00 p.m.

The six day trip to the Spiti region was a perfect late summer break for us. The magnificent landscape of the region, the rich Buddhist legacy, the incredible paintings in the tabo monastery, the smiling people and above all an unexpected encounter with the wildlife really made the trip a special one. It will remain as a lifetime memory for us to cherish!